The siblings watched on as the King ordered their sister to kill the captives. Needless to say, it was not going well. In hindsight, they should have expected something like this to happen. Regardless of their lack of planning, something needed to be done lest their sister end up in even hotter water.

"Elise," Leo whispered, "Do you have your new staff with you?"

"Um, yeah," Elise struggled to look away from the scene, "Why?"

Leo whispered something in her ear, and she nodded at him in enthusiastic understanding before adopting her "game face" as she called it. Giving an encouraging nod, Leo put on his own "game face" of a cool and slightly sadistic prince.

Systematically, the prince cast highly complex and extremely flashy spells that just so happened to be nearly harmless. They were, however, excellent at hiding Elise's efforts off in the corner warping the prisoners to a remote cell for later retrieval. Corrin had better hope they did not make a scene.

"I apologize, my Liege," Leo bowed humbly, "Our dear sister is a bit sheltered from the realities of the world I'm afraid. I assure you, we will teach her how life here works."

Garon grumbled as he glared at the prince for long enough to make even Leo uneasy. Eventually, Xander came to their aid, having realized his gambit.

"You have my word, Father," The crown prince kneeled, "We will work on it. You'd be hard pressed to find someone as clever or who will fight as hard for her people as Corrin."

"Hmm, very well. I shall excuse this act of defiance if she can complete a mission for me…"

"So," Odin watched the tactician in anticipation, "What do you think?"

Robin looked to his wife who gestured for him to speak. Right, he was the master tactician. Forcing himself to rise from his seat, he started pacing. "You've done a good job of embedding yourselves. For now, keep doing what you're doing. Earn their trust and don't let them know about us or our allies on the other side of the border."

Furrowing his brow, Robin continued, "I would like to get a firsthand idea of the situation in Hoshido. That might should be our next destination. Plus, I'm sure Lucina would like to see Cy-ahem, Caeda again."

"If you're going to try a border crossing, I would suggest going through Nestra," Geoffery suggested, "A neutral nation to the southeast."

Lucina nodded, "Thank you, we'll make sure to go that way when we depart."

"Keep us apprised of any updates," Robin came to a stop, "We're all in deep now. Let's do this right."

"Leo!" Corrin was on the verge of a freak out after they left the throne room, "How could you?"

"Careful, dear," Camilla defended her younger brother, "Young Leo here did you quite a favor."

"By killing those people?" Corrin fought back angry tears.

"By not killing them."

"I thought you were up to something," Xander put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Clever, if not risky."

"Hey!" Elise puffed up her cheeks, "I helped too!"

"Yes you did," Leo ruffled her hair, "You did good. Now," The blonde faced his middle sister, "If you would like, you can help ferry your prisoners out of here."

"Why are you just sitting there?" Rinkah growled at the ninja as he sat meditating in the middle of the locked store room. Meanwhile, the flame tribe princess was busy trying to bash something in so that they could escape, "Aren't you supposed to be a master of escape?"

"The Nohrians are increasingly wise to our methods," He replied matter-of-factly, "Besides, they clearly spared us for some reason. I would like to see what that is."

"And if they saved us to torture us?" Rinkah beat her fists against the door to no avail.

"I do not think so. That Corrin…she's special. I want to confirm my suspicions if possible."

"Ugh," Rinkah finally gave up on the door and sat next to the ninja. With the silence grating on her, she looked at her companion and slowly tried to mimic his posture.

This lasted until they could hear someone opening the door. Before they could even stand, a glowing hand was pointed at them.

"I suggest you don't cause trouble. If you want to live, come quickly and quietly."

"Why you-"

The ninja finally stood up, grabbing Rinkah by the arm, "Thank you, we graciously accept your offer."

The prince nodded and led the captives outside. Led into a darkened courtyard, Kaze perked up seeing the princess from before waiting on them.

"Leo!" She beamed, "You did it!"

"I told you they were safe," He smirked, "Though one of them looks to have nearly broken her hand trying to escape."

"You," The ninja spoke up, "Why would you spare us? We're your enemies."

Corrin smiled kindly, "Today, maybe, but I long for the day that we aren't. I would rather do that without bloodshed if I can."

"Then you're hopelessly naive," Rinkah massaged her wrist, "But I owe you my life. That's a debt I won't soon forget."

"Thank you. I hope we can meet again."

"I should also remind you," Leo cleared his throat, "That if you are found operating against Nohr again, my sister here likely won't be there to save you. I shouldn't have to tell you we don't take kindly to repeat offenders."

"Understood," Kaze spoke solemnly with the understanding that he would be summarily executed. They were freed due to mercy, but that mercy had its limits. If his people called upon him again, would he still work on such missions? Given what he saw, he was not sure he had a choice.

"I must ask though," The ninja kept a humble tone, realizing he was very much in the weaker position, "Who are you, exactly?"

"I'm Corrin," The princess put a hand over her chest, "Princess of Nohr."

"Corrin," Leo closed his eyes realizing that the ninja was fishing, recongnizing the suspicion veiled in his words and face. Though there was not much he could do. He instead focused on the Hoshidans, "Hurry on your way. The next patrol will be here any minute. If you're caught, you'll be disposed of quickly and quietly."

"Understood. Rinkah, let's go."

The warrior grumbled, but acquisessed and followed the ninja out of the castle with their small team. They were barely even out of sight before Leo let out a sigh. He had not anticipated that one of them might recognize her.

"Let's go. I shouldn't have brought you to see the enemy," The prince walked forward with his arms behind his back, hiding just how concerned he was over this little incident. If that Hoshidan put two and two together….

"But they were disarmed," Corrin turned to face him smiling, "I don't see why it would matter. Maybe it will help if they see that the Nohrian royalty isn't so bad."

Leo's face twitched, "Life isn't always that simple."

"Why can't it be?" Corrin asked sincerely, and for the briefest of moments, Leo considered a simpler world, but he quickly shook himself of such nonsense. The world was what it was, and they just had to make due with what they had to work with.

"If life were as simple as you thought it was, then maybe the world would be a better place, but I operate in the real world. That requires tough decisions sometimes."

Corrin looked contemplative for a bit, "Maybe you're right, but I'd like to believe that we can come to an understanding."

Leo ruffled her hair, "And that optimism is part of why people like you so much. This place has a way of crushing that though. Just be certain that you don't mistake naivety for optimism."

"I'll be careful, I promise."

"Somehow I doubt that," Leo smiled and shook his head, "But that's what family is for. We'll look out for you. Just don't do anything too reckless."

Corrin giggled, "I'll try."

"Here, I made you a box lunch to take with you," The elder princess handed her sister a carefully packaged meal. Much to Corrin's embarrassment.

"Camilla, you don't have to pack my lunch. I'm not a kid," Despite her protests, her pouts were not exactly convincing anyone of her words.

"I know, I know. It's just that I'm concerned about you going on your first mission."

"I have every confidence in her ability to complete such a routine mission," Xander provided a vote of confidence, "It's the matter of Hans that I'm truly concerned about. I do not know what Father is thinking by putting him on this expedition. Keep your eyes on him. I don't trust him."

"I will, Xander, and I'll have Gunter and Jakob with me. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"I suppose you're right. Gunter is a capable soldier and I know few people as devoted to their liege as Jakob. I'll see you soon, Little Princess."

"I'll make you all proud."

"I'm sure you will," Camilla smiled.

"Now hurry along before you're late," Leo reminded her.

"Oh! Right!" Corrin ran off waving. After waving back, Camila turned to Xander.

"We're following her, right?"

"Absolutely. Get ready to ride. I won't leave her fate to that criminal."

It was late by the time they managed to return to Castle Krakenburg. Selena had been the first to leave, and it was already dark when she stepped outside. While Robin and Lucina's arrival was certainly a surprise, she did hope that they might help end this quickly even if it was for selfish reasons.

She knew they had no right to drag those two into this after everything they had done for them, but the redhead had yet to beat all her self centered ways. She just wanted this to be over with, and the sooner the better.

However, until that day came, she still had her duties as a retainer to uphold. If she was going to do it, she was going to be the best at it. Though, before she could check and see if Lady Camilla had anything for her to do, she would need to find her which was proving more difficult than usual. She would usually let her and Beruka know when she was going somewhere.

She was not in her study, her room, or the training yard. The latter though, did yield some results, however, as she found her fellow retainer hard at work long after most had called it a night.

"Beruka," Selena put her hands on her hips, "Where's Princess Camilla?" At first, she did not respond, forcing Selena to get a bit more forceful, "Hey, I asked a question!"

Barely glancing at her, Beruka did not stop swinging her heavy training ax but she did finally answer, "She and the other royals left on an emergency mission. They were traveling light."

"What? What kind of mission?" Selena did not like the sounds of a mission involving all the royals.

"Don't know, didn't ask."

The redhead groaned, "Okay, do you know where they went?"

"East," The retainer kept swinging her ax, "You're not planning on following them, are you?"

"Pfft, no, of course not. Vacation is vacation. Excuse me for wanting to be on top of things."

"Sure," Came the monotone response.

"This is why I'm Camilla's favorite," Severa flipped one of her twintails as she walked away. Her cool facade hid a certain dread though.

"So this is the Bottomless Canyon," Corrin looked on in awe at the massive crevice in the face of the continent, "It really does look like it. Has no one really been to the bottom?"

"There are no recorded expeditions to the bottom," Gunter replied, "At least not any successful ones. And the wind currents have proven too much for flying mounts to safely descend so the only way would be on foot."

"Or to jump," Jakob suggested in a dry tone, "Not that we'd be able to hear about what they found at the bottom."

"What could make something so massive?"

"Legend has it that it was created in an ancient war between the Dawn and Dusk Dragons," Gunter stared at the crevice with his hands folded behind his back, "Supposedly that was the only thing that could produce such a scar on the land this."

"Talk, talk, talk," Hans mocked with his sinister looking ax over his shoulder, "Do you do anything else? Let's get this operation underway."

"Crudely put," Jakob scowled at the vulgar man, "But we are nearing the location of the fort. We should prepare to investigate."

"It shouldn't be far," Gunter put on an air of professionalism, "Follow me."

Gunter led them up the canyon a little ways until they came to a rickety bridge in sight of the fortress. It was certainly not an inviting vista to say the least. The howling wind from the canyon shot up to make the land feel much colder than normal as harsh rock greeted them in the form of a few outcroppings.

"Why would anyone build a fort here?" Corrin looked back at the creaking bridge as they stepped onto a still precarious feeling rock pillar.

"This canyon makes up the largest border between Nohr and Hoshido," Jakob informed, "It's only natural they would want fortifications no matter how treacherous the landscape."

"This particular fort was abandoned by Nohr many years ago, but with rising tensions, it makes sense to look into reactivating it, or at least making sure the enemy hasn't."

"Heh, looks like somebody's already home," Hans smirked as he brandished his obsidian ax, "Excellent!"

"Hans! Wait!" Corrin reached out, but the man was long gone as he charged off to fight the Hoshidans that had set up shop in the old fort. "Ugh! Why are they even here?"

"An already built but abandoned fort in a strategic location? Seems self explanatory to me." Jakob pulled out a knife, "Regardless, we have a job to do."

Corrin hated it, but her butler was correct. The King would want these Hoshidans dealt with, and it fell to Corrin to lead this small force to do just that. Better them than Hans. Gunter and Jakob she could reign in at least. Hans was like a monster looking only to slaughter.

"Gunter, form a vanguard, break their lines. Jakob, come with me to clean up afterwards. If possible, avoid lethal force."

"Pardon?" Jakob raised his brow and stopped in his tracks, "This is live combat."

"I know, but I don't want to kill if I can avoid it. Besides, best not to make tensions worse than we have to."

"She has a point," Gunter sighed, "It will not be easy, but by your command, we shall try."

With that command, Corrin's team tried to minimize the amount damage Hans could do. In an ironic if not insulting turn of events, the madman seemingly took a stray arrow to the shoulder and fell back leaving Corrin and the others to deal with his mess. This left the princess to huff, but she would have to ask Xander what they should do after she got back.

Fortunately, they were able to force the Hoshidans to retreat. Under Corrin's orders they let them. They were just here to evaluate the fortress anyway. Corrin's recommendation was certainly going to be a thumb's down.

"I see you survived," Hans met them at the far edge of the bridge back to the Nohrian side of the canyon looking far less worse for wear than Corrin would have thought.

"Hans!" Corrin shouted, "What were you thinking? Are you trying to get someone killed?"

"Why, yes. You, in fact," His grin was malicious as he readied his obsidian ax, "Nothing personal, but I do love my job."

"Milady!" Gunter moved to defend his princess as the rogue went to strike. Steel hit steel, however, it was not the impact any of them were expecting. Instead of Gunter taking a strike he was not fully prepared for, a strange new fighter had just parried the blow with ease.

"What?" Hans snarled, "Who are you?"

"You're in no position to ask questions," Corrin's mouth hung open slightly as a robed man calmly walked toward the bridge toward them. He turned his attention to Corrin, "Go. We'll handle this."

His tone did not leave much room for arguing and Corrin nodded to her retainer and knight, but she still wanted to know, "Who are you?"

"An ally." He replied cryptically as he came to flank Hans while the rest of them ran past on his right. "Robin."

"I don't know who you are, but you're messing with the wrong man. I got friends in high places."

"Hmph," The tactician huffed, "Yes, and you attempted to kill a princess and her subordinates. Now, even if you were ordered to do so, do you really think that you're important enough to not be a fall guy if pressed on it?"

The criminal's confidence drained from his face as he went more pale than usual, "I, er."

"Now, you can submit to us, and answer all of our questions, or we can leave you to her very protective siblings. Your call."

The library was dark, only a single candle lit the cavernous labyrinth of knowledge. Naturally, they kept fire in there to a minimum, so tracking a late night reader was not difficult.

"There you are, child," An exasperated manakete yawned as she stopped by the table the bluenette was sitting at, "It is late, even by your standards."

"Huh?" She looked up from a book, "Oh, sorry. Got a bit carried away."

"You know," Tiki folded her arms, "When I agreed to watch you while your parents were away, I did not expect it to be so much work. Perhaps I owe Bantu an apology."

"It's not like I need a babysitter," She defiantly crossed her arms, "I'm an adult. You know, probably."

"The greenhouse you nearly burnt down begs to differ."

"That was an accident, and I already apologized to Grandmother."

Tiki sighed and looked at the open tome in front of the girl, "What has you up so late anyway?"

"Oh, I was just brushing up on my history. I kinda forgot a lot of it."

"Ah, I suppose I cannot fault you for that. Ylisse's history is also yours in a manner of speaking, though I cannot speak for differences in your history and ours."

"Well, can't hurt to learn, though some of these books are frustratingly vague. If they can agree at all. Hey," Morgan's face lit up, "You lived through it, right? Got any juicy insights?"

"I spent a lot of time asleep," Tiki sighed, "But let's see, I can tell you some stories from my past I suppose. Tomorrow."

"Deal."